Tuesday, November 10, 2009

"People want to talk about whether I have rock cred, whether I'm selling out, the theatricality, the gay stuff. ... Chill out! And just enjoy yourself. It's not that deep. Sometimes it is deep. Some of the songs on the album are. Sometimes it's just, 'This is hot, I feel good, this song makes me want to go get a drink and flirt with somebody and have a good time.' Good energy is just as credible as the cathartic, dark, heavy stuff. It's just as important!"

-"American Idol" runner-up and budding glam icon Adam Lambert, who spoke to The Los Angeles Times about his debut album, his ever-evolving image and the public reaction to his work outside of "Idol." Lambert's first record For Your Entertainment drops in a few weeks, but he has already found himself defending his aesthetic choices — including his embrace of traditionally theatrical tropes. "People look at me and immediately say, 'Oh, he's doing the musical-theater thing,'" he explained. "But if you look at most female pop stars right now, how are they any less theater? Beyoncé is doing 'Single Ladies' with two girls in character shoes and leotards, doing Fosse choreography from 'Sweet Charity' and 'West Side Story.'" The singer credits his eclectic taste with his multi-faceted sound. "I was a Paula Abdul fan, a Michael Jackson fan, a Madonna fan. When Christina Aguilera came out when I was in high school, that was a great example of someone taking the pop-dance feel but who could really sing," he said. "Pop stars have done it; it's just not a lot of guys have done it."